Tessa's Recipe Rundown...

Taste: This cookie has big butterscotch flavor and the small amount of cream cheese in the dough adds an almost indiscernible tang that takes these cookies over the top.Texture: Ultra soft and tender.Ease: Super easy!Pros: Perfect for when you’re craving that super soft texture in a cookie.Cons: None.Would I make this again? I’ve been making this recipe for years.

Today we’re talking all about making SOFT chocolate chip cookies. The kind that are ultra tender but still hold their shape and are loaded with tons of ooey gooey chocolate chips.

Cornstarch

Cookies with cornstarch are ultra soft and often slightly gooey and paler in color. It can also aid in lift and height, as it is a thickening agent. Just be sure not to add too much extra cornstarch, otherwise your cookies will develop an almost glue-like pudding consistency. I find in this recipe 2 teaspoons is the Goldilocks measurement.

Cream cheese

Not only does cream cheese add richness and flavor, but it also tenderizes the cookies so they’re super soft, even slightly chewy, without being cakey due to the fat content. I know it’s a bit of a hassle to add in cream cheese here, but believe me it’s these small details that take your cookies from good to GREAT. Be sure to use full fat brick cream cheese, not cream cheese for spreading on bagels.

Baking Time & Temperature

If your oven runs hot, you may want to reduce the temperature slightly to avoid overly browning these cookies. You want to remove these from the oven just before they actually look done baking. The residual heat will continue to cook them and they will solidify as they begin to cool. Also, avoid using a dark colored baking pan.

How to Bake THICK Cookies

The key to making sure your cookies bake up nice and thick instead of flattening into those little sad puddles is to make sure your butter and/or cookie dough isn’t too warm. Make sure your butter is at a COOL room temperature, about 67°F, before creaming with the sugar.

Next, make sure your balls of cookie dough aren’t warm when they enter the oven otherwise the dough will melt too much. If you experience issues with your cookies spreading too much, try popping the tray of shaped dough into the freezer while the oven preheats. If you live in a very humid climate, try adding a couple extra tablespoons of flour to the dough to combat that added moisture.

Science of Cookie Baking

Download my FREE Cookie Customization Guide which shows you quick and easy ways to alter the texture of your favorite cookie recipes. So whether you like soft cookies like this recipe, or prefer cakey, crispy, or chewy, this handy visual guide will show you what tweaks to make to get the texture of your dreams!

Directions

In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter, cream cheese, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add in the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips.

If time permits: wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours but no more than 72 hours. This allows the dough to “marinate” and for the final cookies to become softer, thicker, and more flavorful. Allow to come to room temperature before shaping.

Bake for 10 to 11 minutes, or until light golden brown. Don’t over-bake. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Course:
Dessert

Cuisine:
American

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Recipe byTessa

This recipe was originally published in 2013 and recently updated with new photos, weight measurements, and more recipe tips. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.

About Tessa...

I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)

These soft chocolate chip cookies were the best I have had in any recipe! The texture was outstanding , I guess with the cornstarch and cream cheese in the recipe. They were 10 times better then Toll House recipe! Thanks Tess So glad to be on your site! Everyone should try this recipe you won’t be sorry!

hi ya, so far so good, just wanted to point out that there is no direction on the vanilla. Typically you add it after the eggs, so that is what I will do, but you may want to add that into the recipe directions, thanks!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I have been trying to get my chocolate chip cookies to have a more cake like appearance and not fall flat like a pancake. I have read countless blogs, professional baking sites, cookbooks etc. and it was not until I read your blog about your experiments with CC cookies and the different consistencies achieved, that i had to try the “more brown sugar” over granulated sugar a whirl.

I read your blog this morning on this subject and this afternoon I baked. I used my CC cookie recipe but change the sugar consistency to 75% brown sugar and 25% granulated sugar.

BULLS EYE! Right on the money. My husband and I are now please as we stuff our faces with these pouches of heaven.

There are so many ccc recipes out there, it’s so hard to choose! But I was so intrigued by your addition of cream cheese & cornstarch, so I just had to try it and I have no regrets! This is one of the best ccc recipes I’ve tried, my cookies usually turn out flat and I don’t know if it’s the 2 hr chill time or the cream cheese or the cornstarch but they look magazine ready and taste soooo good. Thank you thank you thank you for sharing! Cream cheese does make everything better 😛

FANTASTIC reipe! Definitely a keeper. I didn’t chill the dough as per recipe, and only did half to test my first batch. What I love about these cookies is how they continue to stay soft even after cooling which is not the case with other cookie recipes I have tried. I also like how there isn’t a butter after taste in my mouth. Wonderful. Thank you for sharing.

OMG!!!! After scouring the web for a good choc chip cookie recipe, and many failed attempts this is the best recipe ever! Simply amazing; however I did not have cream cheese but oh well. Definetly my go to recipe now. Thanks so much

Wow! I’ve been searching for a better chocolate chip cookie recipe and I think I’ve found it! Thank you!! One tip – instead of chilling the dough and then scooping it (when it’s firm and harder to scoop), I lined a tray with parchment and used a #24 disher to scoop the just-made (and soft) dough into balls, placing them on the tray. I then popped that into the fridge to chill. Later, when it was time to bake, I simply transferred the chilled dough balls onto a baking sheet and popped them into the oven. The #24 disher is 2.67 Tbsp, so my cookies required a slightly longer baking time (12-13 minutes), and are a nice ample size (3.25″ in diameter). I am thrilled with this recipe!

So pleased with this recipe! We’ve been a strictly Tollhouse or “break-n-bake” house for so long, that I was itching to try something new. We LOVE them!! Thanks so much. I’ll definitely be making these again 😀

Can you PLEASE write and actual measurement for the butter instead of “1 and 1/2 sticks?” Some companies package their butter differently, and remember people from outside of the country might use the recipe too.

Someone else suggested 6 ounces/12 tablespoons
or about 0.75 cups.
If I followed “1 and 1/2 stick” it’d be several cups

Hi Tessa,
These cookies turned out SO well! I had to make about 20 dozen (yah, TWENTY) cookies for an event, so instead of chilling then scooping, I scooped the dough out onto waxed paper and froze them a a few days in advance, then bagged them up to store until I was ready to bake.
From frozen I baked them for 12-13 minutes.
Straight from the oven on Sunday afternoon, these just tasted like a fabulous chocolate chip cookie with a little crispy edge (which is my favorite)–I didn’t really get that soft batch texture. But then I stored the few that were leftover and had one this morning.
HOLY CHOCOLATE, that cookie was exactly what a soft batch cookie should be! I’m not sure my hubby will want me to make any other kind of chocolate chip cookies again!
Thanks for developing such a great recipe!

I made these cookies yesterday Sunday January 8,2017. They are fantastic. Soft and loaded with chips and chunks ( I used both). This am still soft and wonderful. I made 41 nice size cookies . Thanks for recipe.

Hi, Tessa. Thank you for all your great recipes. I was wondering about how you test your recipes to see if they are good. I usually do a taste test on my family, with them saying whether it is good or bad. How do I get a more in depth analysis? Can you give me suggestions on how to analyse my recipes?
Thanks!

These cookies are FABULOUS!!! I love to bake, but I am trying to stay healthy and make delicious healthy things that my family will love. These were an instant hit all around. Everything about these cookies is delicious from the batter to the cookie to one dipped in milk. I followed the recipe to a ‘T’ and put sea salt on the top. I would definitely make them again and recommend the recipe to anyone wanting to make a healthy, yet taste bud approving cookie!

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